Sparking Change: How Physician Well-Being Affects Quality of Life with Dr. Dael Waxman

Burnout is one of the greatest challenges with which healthcare providers struggle today. As Dr. Dael Waxman explains, “Burnout happens when there’s a mismatch between the individual factors that a person brings to the system they work in and the system factors of that system.”

This dissonance often creates long-term emotional distress. To counteract this, Dr. Dael Waxman focuses on improving physician well-being. 

In this episode of the Prosperous Doc®, our host Shane Tenny, CFP® invites Dr. Waxman to discuss the importance of physician well-being and his journey from clinician to physician well-being coach. Dr. Waxman gives strategies for improving physicians’ quality of life. Additionally, he reveals that an accidental presentation sparked his passion for burnout prevention while strangers’ stories strengthened it. 

 

💡 Featured Guest 💡

Name: Dr. Dael Waxman

What he does: A physician and educator for over 35 years, Dr. Waxman is a recently retired professor of family medicine at Atrium Health and founder of Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting, and an Executive Coach at MD Coaches. Since 2010, he has focused on promoting physician well-being and preventing physician burnout.

Company: Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting

Connect: LinkedIn 

⚡ Prosperous Insights ⚡

[04:02] Finding passion through interaction: Dr. Waxman’s passion for preventing physician burnout began with conversations with other healthcare providers after his presentations on burnout.

[05:05] Wellness vs. well-being: As Dr. Waxman explains, although wellness and well-being are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two.

[10:42] Your well-being matters, so nurture it: Dr. Waxman often uses the PERMA positive psychology model to help his clients improve their well-being. PERMA stands for positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievements.

[14:44] Clarity from COVID-19: COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on medical providers and has worsened burnout. However, now people are beginning to recognize that working constantly is unsustainable because people got cut off from each other and cut off from the things that give them a sense of joy, meaning, and purpose,” explains Dr. Waxman.  

[17:56] Take time for yourself: You have to be able to enjoy your own life to help others. Set time aside for what is important to you and communicate your needs with your team.

[22:28] Driven by the system: When burnout was first recognized, Dr. Christina Maslach found that most causes of burnout were individual but now problems are mostly systematic. To learn more about the frustrations of burnout, listen to Podcast Episode 12 | Behind Physician Burnout with Dr. Dike Drummond. 

[26:00] Fixing the system: Burnout on the organizational level is often caused by a lack of flexibility, lack of community, and lack of recognition and other root causes as focused on in Podcast Episode 49 | Rethinking Burnout and Why it is Important to Address it at the Organizational Level with Dr. Paula Davis. Dr. Waxman cites Dr. Tait Shanafelt, who says that organizations...

Burnout is one of the greatest challenges with which healthcare providers struggle today. As Dr. Dael Waxman explains, “Burnout happens when there’s a mismatch between the individual factors that a person brings to the system they work in and the system factors of that system.”

This dissonance often creates long-term emotional distress. To counteract this, Dr. Dael Waxman focuses on improving physician well-being. 

In this episode of the Prosperous Doc®, our host Shane Tenny, CFP® invites Dr. Waxman to discuss the importance of physician well-being and his journey from clinician to physician well-being coach. Dr. Waxman gives strategies for improving physicians’ quality of life. Additionally, he reveals that an accidental presentation sparked his passion for burnout prevention while strangers’ stories strengthened it. 

 

💡 Featured Guest 💡

Name: Dr. Dael Waxman

What he does: A physician and educator for over 35 years, Dr. Waxman is a recently retired professor of family medicine at Atrium Health and founder of Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting, and an Executive Coach at MD Coaches. Since 2010, he has focused on promoting physician well-being and preventing physician burnout.

Company: Dael Waxman, MD Coaching and Consulting

Connect: LinkedIn 

⚡ Prosperous Insights ⚡

[04:02] Finding passion through interaction: Dr. Waxman’s passion for preventing physician burnout began with conversations with other healthcare providers after his presentations on burnout.

[05:05] Wellness vs. well-being: As Dr. Waxman explains, although wellness and well-being are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two.

[10:42] Your well-being matters, so nurture it: Dr. Waxman often uses the PERMA positive psychology model to help his clients improve their well-being. PERMA stands for positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievements.

[14:44] Clarity from COVID-19: COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on medical providers and has worsened burnout. However, now people are beginning to recognize that working constantly is unsustainable because people got cut off from each other and cut off from the things that give them a sense of joy, meaning, and purpose,” explains Dr. Waxman.  

[17:56] Take time for yourself: You have to be able to enjoy your own life to help others. Set time aside for what is important to you and communicate your needs with your team.

[22:28] Driven by the system: When burnout was first recognized, Dr. Christina Maslach found that most causes of burnout were individual but now problems are mostly systematic. To learn more about the frustrations of burnout, listen to Podcast Episode 12 | Behind Physician Burnout with Dr. Dike Drummond. 

[26:00] Fixing the system: Burnout on the organizational level is often caused by a lack of flexibility, lack of community, and lack of recognition and other root causes as focused on in Podcast Episode 49 | Rethinking Burnout and Why it is Important to Address it at the Organizational Level with Dr. Paula Davis. Dr. Waxman cites Dr. Tait Shanafelt, who says that organizations need to focus on the main source of burnout in their organization, rather than trying to address every cause of burnout.

[35:41] Skills of tomorrow: For the next generation of physicians to thrive, they will need to learn how to care for themselves, in addition to caring for others. 

Disclaimer: Prosperous Doc podcast by Spaugh Dameron Tenny highlights real-life stories from doctors and dentists to encourage and inspire listeners through discussions of professional successes and failures in addition to personal stories and financial wellness advice. Spaugh Dameron Tenny is a comprehensive financial planning firm serving doctors and dentists in Charlotte, NC. To find out more about Spaugh Dameron Tenny, visit our website at www.sdtplanning.com. You can also connect with our host, Shane Tenny, CFP at [email protected] or on Twitter.

Compliance code: CRN202506-2527093